Ice Dragon

Blade spent hours explaining proposed weaponry and tactics, with many sketches and much taking of notes on both sides. They debated materials, transportation, Treduk taboos (comparatively few among the leaders, as Blade had suspected from knowing Nilando, more numerous among the common people). In the end they agreed to give Blade a free hand to develop and try out in the field whatever he thought would work, and a blank check on the Union's resources in men and materials. They felt themselves under a great obligation to him-he was going back and all but thrusting himself into the Dragon's jaws-and this made them more willing to aid him.

It also made Leyndt more passionate than ever before, later in the afternoon at the secluded grove that had become their normal rendezvous. She demanded more and gave more in an endlessly spiraling cycle of raw, rutting passion that left them both spent and limp.

But she was in a talkative mood when she had recovered her strength. Bit by bit the conversation wandered around to the problems the Union faced in developing methods of fighting the Dragons and their Masters-and of course the supreme enemy, the Ice Master himself.

«What you have said about the more-primitive-weapons of your dimension makes me wonder. Have we Graduki perhaps grown as decadent as the Treduki, that we didn't think of these ourselves? I'm not a historian, but I'm sure that in our own history there must have been such weapons. And I wonder whether, if we can overlook something like this, we aren't perhaps overlooking other important things in our fight against the Ice Master. I think perhaps the greatest thing you're going to do for us is to be continuously making us see new ways of coping with the problem, even though you aren't a scientist.»

«You may be right,» he said without any particular emphasis-his voice as measured as hers usually was. But he was thinking furiously. Was this a good time to mention his theory? She might be as receptive in mind as she was in body, and of all the people in the Union she was certainly the one least likely to laugh at him or brand his judgment unsound. The bouts of love between them, in all their shades and variations, had given him more of a fink to her and her to him, although he doubted whether in the end he would turn out to have much of a hold on her. She did not seem to be that sort of woman.

«I think there's something you perhaps aren't considering,» he began. «Do you really believe that the Ice Master gets his resources from the villages he raids and from secret allies among the Conciliators?»

«That seems to be a reasonable theory. He can hardly raise cattle or grow grain, or breed slaves in the glacierland.»

It had occurred to Blade that the Ice Master might indeed be doing just that, back when he was reviewing the objections to his theory of aliens. But then he had rejected it. Large-scale agriculture on the ice cap would require far more power than could be generated without atomic energy, and he found it hard to believe that the Ice Master could have made all the engineering breakthroughs needed to go from atomic theory to a working atomic reactor-at least by himself. If the Ice Master was doing anything that needed vast amounts of power, it was yet another argument in favor of the presence of a superior and alien technology.

«But have you ever found the Ice Master's allies, or had any clues as to who they might be?»

«Not yet. But we assume they're among the Conciliators. After all, what better way could they find of living up to their name than by aiding the Ice Master, even in secret? I expect that when we can infiltrate the Conciliators as thoroughly as we would like to, we'll find the answer. And then we can take action.»

«That's all well and good. But I don't think the Conciliators are anywhere near the root of this problem.» He took a deep breath to cover the pause while he searched for the exact formula of words. «I think-«

He broke off as he noticed she was staring over his shoulder, her eyes wide and her mouth just begi

«They've come in, on the ground,» Leyndt began. «How-«but Blade cut her off with a hand over her mouth. He was furiously trying to work out a plan of action, worried but not entirely unhappy about the chance to settle a few more scores with the Conciliators' soldiery. After a moment he turned to Leyndt.

«Take off your poncho and step out in plain sight.»

Her mouth opened in surprise.

«Yes. If they're pla

She nodded and started struggling out of the poncho. Blade helped her. When she was nude, she gri

In the moment that the first soldier was blocking the other's line of fire, Blade moved. He came out of the bush in a single tigerish leap, head and shoulder slamming into the first soldier's ribcage. He heard the ribs smash and saw the man fly into the air like a mortar shell. Before he had hit the ground Blade had recovered his balance, dropped to the ground under a crackling blast from the second man's beamer, and pivoted around on his arms to smash his legs into the man's knees. He went down, and Blade chopped him across the throat with a flattened hand before he could rise. The first soldier was still writhing and gasping, but before Blade could do anything, Leyndt picked up one of the beamers and burned a hole in the man's skull. Then she dropped the beamer, sagged to the ground, and spent the next couple of minutes being very sick indeed.

When her stomach had heaved itself empty, she tottered to her feet and took Blade's arm. He smiled grimly at her. «Don't worry about that. The same thing happened to me the first time I had to kill somebody to get out of a tight spot. But I had to get used to it. I hope you won't have to.»

She nodded feebly. «What do we do now?»

«Head back to the main buildings and find out how far this has gone. If they're infiltrating through the grounds, we may be able to pick off more as we hit them from the rear. That way we can warn the people in the main buildings and they can deal with the rest as they come in.» That came very much under the heading of whistling in the dark, Blade thought. If the Conciliator goons had any sense, they would have hit the main buildings first and hardest, then started combing the grounds. He and Leyndt might be walking into a series of ready ambushes. But there was no point in being wildly pessimistic, particularly when all that could do was frighten Leyndt. She was going to have to go through this thing on her nerves as it was; Blade had seen too many amateurs like her suddenly pitchforked into a sticky situation.

They began their stalking approach to the main buildings. They had nearly half a mile to go, but even so Blade was surprised at the silence from ahead. No explosions, no shouting, not even the distance-muted crackle of a heatbeamer. Both of them held beamers ready, although Leyndt kept looking at hers as if she expected it to turn around and bite her. Blade, although he was less familiar with the beamers, held his with the same assurance as he would have a Home Dimension submachine gun. It was just another weapon. One learned how to use it and then used it.